|
|
| Ok, so about the trip. First up the flight was quite a long one. 14 hours from Sydney to LA and then we had a short break which was a sprint to the next plane. We almost missed it but didn't (thank goodness). That was another 5 hours over to Orlando. All up I'd say we were travelling for about 22 hours and that's including going thru customs and baggage checks etc etc. They get so boring after you've done it once. I must say I was hanging for a shower by the time we got off the plane in Orlando and arrived at the resort. Sad thing was, so was everyone else in the family and I had to wait my turn! :o( *Laffs* Despite trying to 'bags' FIRST shower, I ended up getting SECOND ... LAST. Ah well, these things happen when you're with family. |
Our stay in the Kissimmee area was 8 nights where we spent 4 days at the Theme Parks in Disney World, 2 shopping and getting our bearings around the area and the last day at Kennedy's Space Centre, where we were able to see the first shuttle of the millennium take off ready to map the world in detail. Disney World I will recommend for anyone of any age. They are awesome parks and the artist and writers behind them have some amazing ideas. I had a really excellent time there but after doing so many parks, it did become a bit monotonous so it was good that we had a few extra days to do other things and break it all up.
|
| The shuttle wasn't that exciting tho. It was good to see it, but alls it did was shoot straight up in the air and leave a trail of smoke behind. It was gone in less than 2 minutes! Haha. The most thrilling part of the day was that it was our first driving experience over there. Sure we had caught taxis and driven around but it's not the same until you do it yourself. Driving on the wrong side of the road and sitting on the opposite side of the car whilst having the driving wheel in your hands is majorly strange. I stressed the whole time we were on the road that day!! That night Dad gave me the opportunity to have a drive myself, just around the resort car park. It's even stranger when you're doing it yourself as well. When I went to put it into 'drive' I actually scratched the door handle on my left looking for the handle and then I realised it was on the other side. I'm glad I didn't drive on the road!! Would have been a disaster. |
So the second week, we flew back to LA and stayed 6 nights in Beverly Hills. It's SO not a glamorous city like people make out. It's just where a lot of stars live. We stayed in an Inn very close to Rodeo Drive and spent 3 days getting around the boulevards. Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame were not real exciting but being able to see Carol Bayer-Sayer presented with her star in the path was great. Although she was getting the 2,153rd star (haha, there's so many of them) in the path we also got to see Henry Winkler (The Fonz), Dustin Hoffman and Elizabeth Taylor in person and that was an experience. Those are the sorts of things that don't happen regularly in Oz.
|
| We also spent a day at Universal Studios in Hollywood which I loved. Being a little of a movie buff I thought it was great to be able to see some houses and sets to some movies like 'Lassie', 'The Burbs', 'The Faculty' and I'm sure there were more but I can't remember them now. Another day was spent at Disneyland which was good BUT nowhere near as good as Disney World in Florida. Disneyland is older and so it's loosing its glamour as the years roll on by. It was good to be able to see where all the ideas for Disney World came from tho. |
Ok, 2 more days to go... we spent one in Tijuana Mexico. That was another driving experience day. I didn't mind it down there either, but a note of warning for anyone who is going there: just make sure you don't let anyone rip you off! In other words... drive a hard bargain and be determined to get what you want.
|
The very very last day we had in LA we took rather slow. We left the Inn about lunch time and put our bags in at LAX. Our flight didn't leave until 10:30pm so we had the entirety of the day to fill in. By this time tho everyone in the family was a little edgy and looking forward to getting home to Aussie soil. We ended up spending the afternoon and evening at Santa Monica on the Pier and around the beach. I thought it was quite yucky actually. Compared to our beaches the beach there was so disgusting I thought that maybe the whole 6 million people living in the LA area had all spat in the water. I was so taken by what I seen this is what I wrote in my dairy:
"... We got to walk around the pier and see the horrible green murky water with the flat waves and the silly looking baywatch sheds they have all the way up and down the beach. It was most exciting... "
We finished off the day with dinner at the Crocodile Cafe and watching the sunset over the ocean in the west. That was very cool because living on the east coast of Australia we are only able to watch the sun rise over the ocean. |
| So, if you read this far... Thanx! I guess you may have been a little interested then. Not that it was riveting or anything. Enjoy the pics I have linked below! |
Do you really want to know what it was like for me?? I can tell you now it was one hell of a huge culture shock. The weird thing was I was expecting it but it still slapped me in the face pretty hard. I think I could go back to visit a friend or stay in the suburbs, maybe even the country, but I don't think I could ever go back to stay in the cities (especially the ones I visited). Don't get me wrong, it was a great experience and one I will always remember. I had a great time BUT it's not my home. Australia is my home.